Say Goodbye to Old Clothes, Make Way for New Confidence!

We are all guilty; we hold on to old, tattered, dated and faded outfits we love with the hopes of pulling them out for one more magical occasion where they could be relevant again. Yes, style changes with time, and it is absolutely possible to stay timeless with your look. However, having timeless style doesn’t exclude you from taking a good look at your wardrobe and saying: It’s time for some pieces to go! I always stress how important it is to my clients to develop our own style, and even grow our style as we ourselves grow. Simply put: time changes, we change, and our wardrobe should change as well.

However, taking a look at your own wardrobe and deciphering what should stay and what should go is not that easy. Male or female, we all love to hold onto things. When it comes to girls, we carry sentimental feelings towards pieces that were worn on specific occasions or even remind you of your more carefree, younger years. Typically for guys, you get the sentimental rock tee and clothes that haven’t been updated. When it comes to dating, wearing old, worn, too big, or too small, and even just tired, exhausted clothes isn’t projecting the most updated and confident you. You know that feeling when you put on a new item that you absolutely love? That is the feeling you need to have when getting dressed for a date!

So let’s get rid of the old so you can make way for some new pieces that feel great, fit great, and show the most confident you NOW. Here are a few tips to get your “spring cleaning” on.

1) Enlist a Good Friend

Having an outside eye to help you survey your closet and give you an honest opinion is going to make letting go of those old pieces much easier. Want to make this dating specific? Enlist a friend of the opposite sex and let them guide you as to what they find attractive in order to help you weed out the bad and make way for the fresh and new.

2) Review Everything

Reviewing anything that hasn’t been worn in over a year is a good place to start. Pull out any item that you just haven’t worn. It doesn’t matter the reason. Just pull it out of your closet. Then try every piece on. If you can’t say, “This piece is amazing on me” then it’s time to let it go. You should be excited about your look every day – so if you are not feeling it at all, then you won’t suddenly be felling it in the future.

3) Separate Seasonal Items

Take any sentimental items, costume pieces, and even varying seasonal items out of your wardrobe completely and put them in storage boxes. Creating space in your closet is one of the quickest ways to make getting dressed easier. And with less to choose from, you are most likely going to make better wardrobe choices. What remains in your closet should be the pieces you love.

4) Don’t Forget Accessories

Scarves, shoes, handbags, duffle bags, socks, undershirts/tanks – these are all items that accumulate in our wardrobe. Start clearing the old and worn pieces. The more room you make, the easier getting dressed will be. Promise!

5) Be a Fashion Mensch

Think about the good deeds you can do with your wardrobe. Did you know we wear 20% of our wardrobe 80% of the time? That being said, upwards of 80% of your wardrobe is not being used. As Jews, we believe in social action. Your unworn clothes could be filling a need in the community. As an example, the National Council for Jewish Women is a great place to start! Donate your old, cleaned out wardrobe and you are not only providing clothes for somebody less fortunate, but you are also raising money for programs that are being put back into the community.

There is truly no better feeling that cleaning out your wardrobe. Once you have finished, you will feel freer and happier with the pieces in your closet that you do love. It’s a bit like therapy. You are removing the old that is weighing you down and holding you back, so that you can launch yourself into a newer, brighter world for yourself. And there is no better magic that you can create in your own life that leaves you feeling great – which will undoubtedly spill over into your love life as well!

Named “LA’s go-to stylist” by the Los Angeles Times in 2012, certified image consultant and personal stylist Laurie Brucker of LaurieBstyle LLC, is the stylist for real people. With a degree in Apparel Merchandising from Indiana University, and a certification from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City for Image Consulting, Laurie was hand-picked as a top stylist in 2011 to represent Stacy London from TLC’s “What Not to Wear.” Keeping style very personal, Laurie has developed the “Style Strategies for Success,” which empowers her clients with the tools, techniques and art of creating your own unique sense of style that’s right for you! Join Laurie on her website for more tips, tricks and style advice: www.lauriebstyle.com or book a one-on-one session today!

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